About the book: Jessica
Fechtor was on a treadmill in a hotel gym at a graduate student
conference when an aneurysm burst in her brain. Jessica was 28, newly
married, and healthy when she collapsed and nearly died. Luckily, she
was quickly rushed to a hospital but between the aneurysm and
a subsequent infection she lost her sense of smell, the sight in her left
eye, had to have numerous surgeries, and needed to wear a helmet to
protect her head for nearly two years. The impact on her career and her
life was devastating as you can imagine but with the support of her
family and friends along with the healing power of the food and cooking,
Jessica found her way back.

I first came across the audio of this book after reading a review of it on a favorite book blog (Beth Fish Reads)
and checking it out from the library. Listening to Jessica's story and
her wit and warmth in telling it made me a fan and I wanted to share it
with Cook the Books. Although the subject matter is
serious and Jessica's story often heart-wrenching and moving, for me there is
enough humor and inspiration to lift it up, rather than bog it down in
sadness. I bought the book so I could read the words this time and also see
the twenty-seven recipes that are woven in throughthe book.

With 27 recipes, plus all of the food mentions, the challenge just became narrowing down what to make. When I first listened to the audio book I made Julia's Sesame Noodles from the included recipes and it was delicious enough that I have made it several times since. But, since soup to me is the ultimate "bring you home" and ground you dish, I decided to pick one of Jessica's soup recipes. I was intrigued by her Simplest Tomato Soup because it is different than my usual tomato with the addition of red wine vinegar, flour and baking soda. Plus, once tomato soup was in my head I found myself craving it and having just made a big-batch of Jacques Pépin's Fromage Fort (cheese spread) I thought it would be the perfect accompaniment on a windy, cool weekend.

Simplest Tomato Soup

From Stir by Jessica Fechtor

(Makes 8 Servings)

Jessica says, "When I was newly
patched up but feeling broken still that fall, I made a lot of soup. One big
batch on the weekends to stretch for as many lunches and dinners as I could
manage. This simple tomato soup figured heavily in the rotation then. It’s
smooth, bold, and improves with age. I ate it all the time, after long hours in
the library and runs along the river."

1
large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, divided

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2
(28-oz) cans whole tomatoes, preferably Muir Glen

pinch
of baking soda

1
cup water

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

(I added 1 tsp sugar)

1
bay leaf

1
cup whole milk, warmed (but not boiled) (I used coconut milk)

good-tasting olive
oil, to serve (optional)

In a large heavy pot,
melt the butter over medium heat. When it foams, add the onion, and sauté until
it softens, goes translucent, and browns a little around the edges. Add 1
tablespoon of the vinegar to deglaze the pot, scrape up the brown bits with a
wooden spoon or spatula, and turn down the heat to medium-low.

Add the flour and the
tomato paste, and stir to incorporate. Add the remaining tablespoon of vinegar
to deglaze once again, and scrape up any flour or tomato paste that may be
sticking to the pot.

Dump in the 2 cans of
tomatoes and their juices and break them up a bit with a wooden spoon. (Watch
out, they squirt.) Stir in the baking soda and water, season lightly with salt
and pepper, add the bay leaf, partially cover, and simmer gently for about 30
minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and use an immersion blender
to purée the soup. (You can also carefully purée it in batches in a stand
blender. (Remember to fill the blender only one-half to three-quarters of the
way full with each batch. Return the puréed soup to the pot.)

Add the warmed milk
very slowly, stirring constantly, just before serving. Top each bowl with a
drizzle of olive oil, if you’d like, and a grind or two of black pepper.

Notes/Results: I have yet to meet a homemade creamy tomato soup that I don't like and this one is no exception. It is different from my normal soups as it have a more tangy, piquant taste due to the red wine vinegar. After tasting it, I felt that it needed a bit of sugar to round out the flavors and that worked nicely for me. Overall, it was a rich-tasting and creamy soup that worked well for dunking my fromage fort-spread bread and made a delicious lunch and I am sure a grilled cheese would be equally at home here. I would make it again.

The deadline for this Cook the Books round is this Tuesday, January 31st and I will be rounding up the delicious entries at the CTB
site shortly after. If you missed out on this round and like books,
food, and foodie books, consider joining us for February/March when my fellow Hawaii blogger Claudia of Honey from Rockwill be hosting with the foodie memoir, Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent. Hope you join us!

We have good friends in the Souper Sundays kitchen who shared some delicious dishes last week--let's have a look!

Vicki of I'd Rather Be At the Beachbrought Paula Deen's Crock Pot Potato Soup. She said, "I wondered how the ingredients would work since I’ve never used cream
cheese, chicken broth, or cream of chicken soup. It was easier than
easy to make, and the ingredients didn’t cost much. The soup was good, but I think I’ll stick with my mom’s recipe most
of the time, and use this for when I’m not feeling like peeling a bunch
of potatoes."

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor made Homemade Vegetable Soup and said, "Rainy and cloudy....so gloomy. Rainy days seem to be meant for soup,
don't you think so? This is my throw together soup, trying to halfway
decipher a French cookbook, using up bits and leftovers from the fridge. This is different ( not by a lot but it is different) from the Fall River Soup I
made last week. I didn't use wine this time and there were different
veggies - but any time you can use up veggies on hand, soup is the
answer. Zero-Waste week."

and then
piquancy from the sun dried tomatoes and black peppers and the pasta acted as a
brilliant foil to hold all those flavours."

Debra of Eliot's Eats shares two salads this week, first is this Red Rice Salad (Loaded with Veggies). Debra said, "I really enjoyed this salad and it was a nice change from our warm rice
bowls. Although the raisins added a different texture and a bit of
sweetness, I think the next time I make this I will add dried tomatoes
instead. This salad definitely gets better the longer it sets. Any
grain will work for this dish as well like the Dorie called-for couscous
or quinoa."

Debra's second salad is thisSesame Noodles with Broccoli that can be enjoyed hot or cold, She said, "I did swap out the sugar and added honey and threw in some broccoli for a healthier meal. ... I made this dish to take to a work-related pot luck meal. (This recipe makes a lot of noodles.) ... I ate the leftovers the rest of the week as a cold salad which is how I prefer this dish."

Mahalo to everyone who joinedin this week!

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone
interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you
aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

Another good soup recipe! Thank you for choosing this book. It was remarkable and I have so many great recipes from it, what an excellent memoir and good writing. Proud to have participated with you all for this round of Cook the Books 😊

Tomato soup is my favorite comfort food! I loved all the recipes, but mostly I loved her lively writing and courageous attitude. BTW — I missed getting my post into this round even though I read the book, even getting so far as to make and photo the almond cake, which was yum by the way. Oh well, next time - thanks for hosting!

With the weather we're having, soup is not only comfort, it's the only comfort ;) Just its color is uplifting. I love tomato soup and Fechtor's recipe is intriguing. Fromage fort is too. Thank you Deb for choosing such an interesting book.

Mahalo for visiting and for leaving a comment. I love reading them and they mean a lot!

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Home of Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

About Me

Originally from the beautiful but rainy Pacific Northwest, I have been living in beautiful and (mostly) sunny Hawaii for the past 15 years. Foodie and Certified Health Coach--I love all things related to food and cooking. I especially like making healthy food that tastes great.